Rescue Party

by Arthur C. Clarke

Release: May 1946
Format: Novelette
Genre: Science Fiction
Audience: Adults
Content: Time Phenomena
Original Language: English

Only a smidgen of unimportant time phenomena in the first paragraph of this ominous first contact story.

— Michael Main

But Alveron and his kind had been lords of the Universe since the dawn of history, since that far distant age when the Time Barrier had been folded round the cosmos by the unknown powers that lay beyond the Beginning.

DEBUT

“Rescue Party,” Astounding Science Fiction, May 1946.

VARIANTS

2 English variants

TRANSLATIONS

Dutch translation:
[ex=bare]“Rettungsexpedition” | Rescue expedition[/ex], in Een nieuwe dageraad en andere verhalen (Elsevier, 1979).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Pon Ruiter
French translation:
[ex=bare]“Expédition de secours” | Relief expedition[/ex], in Demain, moisson d'étoiles (Denoël, 1960).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Adrien Veillon
French translation:
[ex=bare]“Expédition de secours” | Relief expedition[/ex], in Avant l’Eden (J’ai Lu, April 1978).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Iawa Tate
Tom Clegg (revision)
German translation:
[ex=bare]“Rettungsexpedition” | Rescue expedition[/ex], Utopia Science Fiction Magazin #9, December 1957.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Clark Darlton as by Walter Ernsting
German translation: Alternative title of “Rettungsexpedition” (1957).
[ex=bare]“Die Retter” | The rescuers[/ex], in Science-Fiction Stories 28, edited by Donald Wollheim (Ullstein, September 1973.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Clark Darlton as by Walter Ernsting
German translation:
[ex=bare]“Rettungsexpedition” | Rescue expedition[/ex], in Ein Treffen mit Medusa (Bastei Lübbe, September 1986).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Michael Nagula
Italian translation:
[ex=bare]“Operazione di salvataggio” | Rescue operation[/ex], Scienza Fantastica #1, April 1952.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons [uncredited]
Italian translation:
[ex=bare]“Spedizione di soccorso” | Rescue expedition[/ex], Urania #444, 11 September 1966.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Ginetta Pignolo
Italian translation:
[ex=bare]“Spedizione di soccorso” | Rescue expedition[/ex], Urania #1442, 30 June 2002.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Fabio Feminò
Japanese translation:
[ex=bare]“太陽系最後の日” | Last day of the solar system | “Taiyōkei saigo no hi”[/ex], S-Fマガジン, February 1960.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke as by A・C・クラーク
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons
Portuguese translation:
[ex=bare]“Missão de salvamento” | Rescue mission[/ex], in Antologia cósmica, edited by Fausto Cunha (Francisco Alves, 1981).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons
Portuguese translation:
[ex=bare]“Grupo de Salvamento” | Rescue group[/ex], in [Em Busca do Futuro[/em] (Edições 70, 1990).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Arthur C. Clarke
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Ana McDonald de Carvalho

12 translations

TAGS(SPOILERS!)

Time Periods

Unspecified Future Year: no earlier than 2124 AD based on the 1974 painting that had been hanging at least 150 years

Timeline Models

Groupings

Astounding · Analog (periodical): May 1946
Escape Pod, Podcastle, Pseudopod, and Cast of Wonders (radio or audio series): Escape Pod #400, 18 June 2013
Urania (periodical): #444, 11 September 1966; and #1442, 30 June 2002
Utopia Magasin (periodical): #22, March 1959

ITTDB Work #6866: by Arthur C. Clarke
Indexer: Michael Main
Curator: Michael Main
as of 3:37 a.m. MDT, 6 May 2024
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